Room 11 News
May 16, 2017 - May 26, 2017
We made it!
What a year it has been! It has been a privilege having your child in our class this year. We have loved watching them grow and learn and are so proud of all they have accomplished! Your children have made new friendships, learned new songs, observed new buildings being built, have made many academic strides, and most importantly, have had a ton of fun and developed a love for learning. Thank you all so very much for sharing your sweet, wonderful children with us. This is such a bitter-sweet time for us all and we do hope you will all stay in touch. Have a fantastic summer break!
Art
Pre-Kindergarten students have been celebrating spring by drawing trees with new leaves and flowers inspired by Georgia O'Keeffe. Recently, they viewed works of art made from natural materials. This let them to create pictures and designs using sticks, river rocks, pebbles, and leaves. They also used clay to create pinch pots, which have been fired in a kiln. After painting them with watercolors, these lovely pots are ready to be sold at their Framers Market. As you enter summer, consider building some collections of natural materials with your child and place them in baskets in your home. Natural objects are wonderful to have around for spontaneous acts of creating, being both soothing and inspirational. Also, a new summer sketchbook is great for capturing a story, travel adventure, or reflections from a play date. Have a fantastic summer!
Environmental Science
We have been visiting our bird nest “stores” that we hung outside and the birds appear to be using them. Almost all our yarns, newspaper strips etc. are gone; we think the birds have used them for their nests. Our classes continue to observe the cycles of composting, earthworms and flowers in our gardens and to marvel at the sweet smells which different gardens provide for our senses.
Our alphabet hike to the creek area had our students searching for nature items that begin with a letter and/or sound – always a challenging activity.
Happy Summer, it will be here before we know it! If you and your child would like to be a Summer Garden Volunteer, email Linda and she will notify you when an informational meeting will be held. If everyone helps one or twice in the gardens during the summer months, our gardens will survive and look beautiful when we return to school!
Summer Recomendations
Your children have learned so much this year and we couldn't be more proud! We have a few recommendations to continue their development over the summer:
1. Play Play Play! Children learn best through play and need ample opportunity to use their imagination and creativity. We also recommend play dates with other friends to foster social and emotional development
2. Read! Take your children to the library or bookstore and let them pick out some books for you to read. Don't worry about what types of books they choose- the important thing is that they are interested and enjoy it! This will plant the seeds for a love of reading. Here's a link to a few reading apps.
3. Draw! Allow your children to draw with different types of mediums including crayons, markers, colored pencils and chalk. Open-ended drawings is a great outlet for children to express themselves and improves hand strength.
4. Exercise! Make sure to spend plenty of time running, swimming, walking, swinging, and climbing! While we know summers can be hot, try to get to the park early in the morning so they can still build their core strength and burn some energy.
Events & Reminders
Thursday May 25 - Parent/ Teacher Conference
Friday, May 26 - Parent/ Teacher Conference